Hello, Friendly Foxes!
We have had a wonderful week continuing to enjoy winter and all that it has to offer us. The children have thoroughly enjoyed outdoor playtime, especially now that we are spending so much time on our big hill and in our pine tree forest. They figured out that the slick crust allows them to slide down on their backs and bellies like penguins, and they’ve also had so much fun rolling, running and playing together. Thank you for providing plenty of gear to keep them warm and dry in this Arctic air snap we’re experiencing! They don’t mind the cold, and the sunshine has definitely helped.
After focusing on hibernation last week in our classroom, this week we learned all about animal winter migration and adaptations. We completed our big beautiful bulletin board that is now filled with our handmade animals to remind us of all the ways different animals survive their long, cold winters. Come on inside the classroom and explore it with your child! They are very proud of their creations and what they’ve learned. We learned all about when, why, and how whales migrate, lots of facts, such as how they stay together in pods, and how they are mammals just like we are! Next we learned all about hummingbirds and how they can fly upside-down and backwards, hover like helicopters, and how far they migrate non-stop over the ocean – wow! We even tried to flap our wings as fast as they do. We then switched our focus to adaptations, and learned a new song, “I Have What I Need” all about how our cardinals survive the winter. We also gave our snowshoe hares a fluffy white coat to keep them warm. Yesterday was one of our favorite days of the year, as we learned all about pikas and how they collect grasses and flowers to dry and store for the winter. We absolutely loved listening to and mimicking their funny calls, and pretending to be pikas by gathering our grasses and flowers and spreading them in the sunshine to dry. There were lots of giggles to be had! Today we wrapped it all up by making our own “Animals in Winter” book to take home and read with our families so that we can share with you what we know! We also made another class book to which we each added a page and practiced our writing and the children are very proud of this! You can find it near the sign-in chart. If your child would like to add a page to this, just let us know. We read a lot of wonderful books during this unit, and we’ve been playing lots of fun alphabet and counting games together, as well as enjoying lots of new sensory bin small world play. We are also greatly enjoying building lots of small and large puzzles!
Next week we will shift our focus to the poles, and learn all about Antarctica and its animals. There is lots of penguin fun heading our way! Please remember to message us as soon as you know that you are keeping your child home so that we aren’t worrying about where you are – we care about you and we miss you when you’re gone! We would also much rather be playing with all our sweet friends than trying to send messages to families who aren’t at school, as it is school policy that we must contact every family each day that we are uncertain of your whereabouts. Thank you for being such wonderful partners on this wonderful adventure!
Have a cozy weekend!
Wynne
